What antibiotics treat infections?
The main types of antibiotics include:
- Penicillins – for example, phenoxymethylpenicillin, flucloxacillin and amoxicillin.
- Cephalosporins – for example, cefaclor, cefadroxil and cefalexin.
- Tetracyclines – for example, tetracycline, doxycycline and lymecycline.
- Aminoglycosides – for example, gentamicin and tobramycin.
What are the uses of antibiotics?
Antibiotics are used to treat or prevent some types of bacterial infections. They are not effective against viral infections, such as the common cold or flu. Antibiotics should only be prescribed to treat health problems: that are not serious but are unlikely to clear up without antibiotics – such as acne.
What is the highest level of antibiotics?
The highest division between antibiotics is bactericidal and bacteriostatic. Bactericidals kill bacteria directly, whereas bacteriostatics prevent them from dividing. However, these classifications are based on laboratory behavior. In practice, both treat a bacterial infection.
What is the strongest antibiotic on the market?
Scientists have tweaked a powerful antibiotic, called vancomycin, so it is once more powerful against life-threatening bacterial infections. Researchers say the more powerful compound could eliminate the threat of antibiotic resistance for many years to come.
Do antibiotics weaken your immune system?
Will antibiotics weaken my immune system? Very rarely, antibiotic treatment will cause a drop in the blood count, including the numbers of white cells that fight infection. This corrects itself when the treatment is stopped.
Can you drink on antibiotics?
Although modest alcohol use doesn’t reduce the effectiveness of most antibiotics, it can reduce your energy and delay how quickly you recover from illness. So, it’s a good idea to avoid alcohol until you finish your antibiotics and are feeling better.
Is amoxicillin stronger than penicillin?
Amoxicillin is a newer version of penicillin that covers more types of bacteria. Amoxicillin was created by modifying the original chemical structure of penicillin to make it more potent. Both amoxicillin and penicillin cover Streptococcal bacteria.